This week at work I got the opportunity to speak at a childhood obesity prevention workshop. We were highlighting the We Can! (Ways to Enhance Childhood Activity and Nutrition) program from the National Institutes of Health. If you have children, I highly recommend checking out the We Can! website. Anyways, they have a cookbook that I brought home and I am going to start trying some of the recipes. They are super healthy and kid friendly.
The first recipe was this Tomato Stuffed Quinoa. I ended up changing the recipe a little bit with the ingredients I had on hand. It was really yummy and looked so pretty! The cookbook says to use this as a vegetable side dish but since we are eating more vegetarian lately, it looked like a good stand alone meal as well.
Ingredients:
1/2 Chopped Onion
3 Cloves Chopped Garlic
1/2 Chopped Green Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley
Preheat oven to 350. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic first then add the green pepper (or any other vegetables that you think would be good). Cook the quinoa according to directions and add to the mixed ingredients. Hallow the tomato and place the quinoa mixture into the tomato. Cook the stuffed tomato for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Serve immediately.
Yummm!
This week I made a
Warm Tortellini and Cherry Tomato Salad from Cooking Light. It was a great easy weeknight meal. I tried to take a picture after I made this but it didn't turn out as great as theirs shown above.
I love using recipes from Cooking Light as they have all the nutritional content already listed so you know it's healthy. This is low in calories and packed with veggies.
I did make a few changes. I didn't add the artichoke hearts because I don't really like them. I also added more balsamic vinegar and cheese.
I would recommend trying this recipe as a meal or even as a side if you want some meat in your meal. My husband said it was even better the second day for lunch. We will definitely have this again. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
As I am settling in to my new work schedule, I am learning what there is to eat around my office for lunch. I work downtown and have several fun places to go. Today, I took a walk over to an area they call the "International Food Court". First stop, Mexican. I was so surprised with how great it was and will definitely be back. I ordered two small chicken soft tacos and they started making them fresh right away. It was a very simple mix of corn tortillas, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and salsa out of a ketchup bottle. I am thinking of going to each place and giving a review. Check back for Day 2! It is so fun to live in a big city!
Posted on
Monday, March 1, 2010
7:55 PM
| By:
Sheena and Seanna
Category:
Avocado
,
Garlic
,
Rice
,
Tomatoes
Let me start out by telling you a funny story about my trip to the grocery store today. I usually go to a big chain store but today I was found myself next to a health food store so I decided to do my shopping there. As I was in the produce aisle I heard some music and out walked a person playing the trumpet, another person playing the accordion and harmonica, and lastly a person with some cymbals?!? I am still not sure what to think about all this and they continued to do loops around the store for the duration of my shopping. Needless to say, it was very interesting but fun. Perhaps I will have to go back next Monday to see if this is normal.
Now on to the food! Since the health food store had so many colorful vegetables I turned the entire meal into a veggie night. First I made a guacamole dip with avocado, tomato, green onions, cilantro, and garlic (served with chips of course!). For the main meal we had burritos with red and yellow peppers, onions, mexican rice, cheese, and sour cream. For the side we had a green salad with ranch. I know I like to make a lot of recipes but sometimes there is something so refreshing in just mixing simple ingredients together. It was very needed.
I am so excited to continue on with my food for the week. Next to come for me are greek pitas, shrimp pasta, and beef stroganoff. Also, check out Sheena's Menu Plan Monday for more yummy meals...
Hope you all have a good week!
For lunch today I made this quick little side dish that will be very useful for the rest of the week. You can add this on top of anything that you think might work. I put it on my salad along with a little shredded cheese. Its so simple but we all forget how easy it is! Looks great for parties as well.
Ingredients...don't worry so much on the amounts. Do it by taste and it will turn out great!
5 medium tomatoes chopped
1 medium red onion chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1 lemon, juice only
2 small limes, juice only
1 teaspoon chiles in adobo sauce (add more for hot, less for medium)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
.
Mix together and serve after chilled.
.
So good!
- Seanna
This week at work I got the opportunity to speak at a childhood obesity prevention workshop. We were highlighting the We Can! (Ways to Enhance Childhood Activity and Nutrition) program from the National Institutes of Health. If you have children, I highly recommend checking out the We Can! website. Anyways, they have a cookbook that I brought home and I am going to start trying some of the recipes. They are super healthy and kid friendly. 
